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Webster 1913 Edition


Coil

Coil

(koil)
,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Coiled
(koild);
p. pr. & vb. n.
Coiling
.]
[OF.
coillir
, F.
cueillir
, to collect, gather together, L.
coligere
;
col-
+
legere
to gather. See
Legend
, and cf.
Cull
,
Verb.
T.
,
Collect
.]
1.
To wind cylindrically or spirally;
as, to
coil
a rope when not in use; the snake coiled itself before springing
.
2.
To encircle and hold with, or as with, coils.
[Obs. or R.]
T. Edwards.

Coil

,
Verb.
I.
To wind itself cylindrically or spirally; to form a coil; to wind; – often with about or around.
You can see his flery serpents . . .
Coiting
, playing in the water.
Longfellow.

Coil

,
Noun.
1.
A ring, series of rings, or spiral, into which a rope, or other like thing, is wound.
The wild grapevines that twisted their
coils
from trec to tree.
W. Irving.
2.
Fig.: Entanglement; toil; mesh; perplexity.
3.
A series of connected pipes in rows or layers, as in a steam heating apparatus.
Induction coil
.
(Elec.)
See under
Induction
.
–
Ruhmkorff’s coil
(Elec.)
,
an induction coil, sometimes so called from
Ruhmkorff
, a prominent manufacturer of the apparatus.

Coil

,
Noun.
[Of Celtic origin; cf. Gael.
goil
fume, rage.]
A noise, tumult, bustle, or confusion.
[Obs.]
Shak.

Webster 1828 Edition


Coil

COIL

,
Verb.
T.
To gather, as a line or cord into a circular form; to wind into a ring, as a serpent, or a rope.

COIL

,
Noun.
1.
A rope gathered into a ring; on shipboard, a single turn or winding is called a fake, and a range of fakes is called a tier.
2.
A noise, tumult, bustle.